FDA Blood Pressure Medication Recall Expanded

USA- According to WGNTV.com*, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has added to a list of recalled medications. The recall pertains to medications that include valsartan, which is used in drugs that treat heart failure and blood pressure.

The initial recall was issued in July2018. Tests of the drugs indicated that some were contaminated with a substance that has a high risk of causing cancer. The recall has been issued in 22 other countries. The contaminating chemical, N-nitrosodimethylamine(NDMA) is considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to be a potential carcinogen. NDMA is used in rocket fuel. The chemical can be created by some chemical reactions.

Two people who took the medication have filed a class-action lawsuit against two of the manufacturers.

Individuals who are taking the recalled medication are instructed to contact their doctors before stopping taking the medication.

The tainted drugs come from a manufacturer located in China. The Chinese companies released a notice of the contamination as soon as it was located.

The risk of developing cancer from these drugs is fairly low. According to scientists at the FDA, if 8,000 people took the medication that had the highest amount of NDMA in it out of all of the samples studied, and continued taking the tainted medication for four years, there could be about one extra case of cancer. Doctors say this is why they do not avoid stopping taking the medication without first contacting their doctor. Doctors may prescribe a replacement medication to avoid having the patients take the version that could be contaminated with a carcinogenic substance.

*https://wgntv.com/2018/08/29/fda-expands-recall-of-blood-pressure-medications/